Inside the Star

NDP caucus gathers in Newfoundland as Quebec election looms

Discussions at the caucus retreat will focus on the main priorities the NDP plans to champion in the upcoming fall parliamentary session — jobs, pensions, the environment, the economy and Employment Insurance.

NDP Leader Tom Mulcair stands in front of a makeshift memorial wall bearing messages for the late Jack Layton as crowds gather to mark the one year anniversary of the former NDP leader's passing in Toronto on Aug. 22.

By:Joanna SmithOttawa Bureau, Published on Mon Sep 03 2012

OTTAWA—New Democrats will gather in St. John’s, N.L., this week — at the height of the Quebec election — to figure out a way to convince Canadians they will be ready to replace the Conservative government.

“We have our leadership confirmed and we start to make our presentation to the country as we may be fit for government,” said Opposition House Leader Nathan Cullen.

Discussions at the caucus retreat will focus on the main priorities the NDP plans to champion in the upcoming fall parliamentary session — jobs, pensions, the environment, the economy and employment insurance — as the party continues to oppose how the Conservatives have handled those files and puts forward some ideas of its own.

With so many of its MPs now hailing from Quebec, the closed-door strategy sessions will likely be overshadowed by the election in that province happening Tuesday, with polls suggesting a win for the sovereigntist Parti Québécois.

NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair is expected to provide his response to the results Wednesday, when he will also be asked about the NDP returning $344,468 to unions and other organizations at the request of Elections Canada, as reported in the Star on Aug. 26.

Quebec caucus chair Robert Aubin said the NDP is ready to work with whoever wins.

“Like all Quebecers, but also like all MPs in the rest of Canada, we are impatient to see the results of this election,” Aubin said in an interview last week. “But the message of ‘working together’ the NDP has been hammering home since the 2011 election is the same now as it ever was. No matter which government Quebecers elect on Sept. 4, we will work with those elected.”

They may have their work cut out for them.

Parti Québécois Leader Pauline Marois said on Friday that, if elected, she plans to begin confronting Prime Minister Stephen Harper by demanding the federal government give Quebec more control over employment insurance, French-language protection laws and cultural programming, with the plan to build a case for another referendum on Quebec sovereignty if Harper does not give into the demands.

Aubin said the Quebec caucus will continue to present what he believes is a better vision for advancing the interests of its constituents by putting forward ideas like extending the French-first language laws to federal institutions in the province.

“We will analyze and judge each of the bills to see what is the position of the NDP with regard to the demands of Quebec,” Aubin said.

Mulcair and the NDP will also once again face questions about the Sherbrooke Declaration, the policy paper that spells out the NDP position on asymmetrical federalism and what happens after a referendum on sovereignty.

The Sherbrooke Declaration says the NDP would recognize a “majority decision” — specified as 50 per cent plus one — “of the Quebec people in the event of a referendum on the political status of Quebec,” adding it would be up to the federal government to determine the process “in the spirit” of the 1998 Supreme Court reference on secession, with no mention of the Clarity Act.

“I do not believe there is a direct correlation. The Sherbrooke Declaration already exists,” Aubin said when asked if the party would revisit the document if the PQ forms government.

Aubin said he expects some debate on how to further develop the policy in caucus and at future policy conventions, “but there are already important points in the Sherbrooke Declaration that we will continue to maintain and are there to stay.”

New Democrat MPs also plan to continue their outrage over what was contained in the omnibus budget implementation Bill C-38 passed this spring, especially when it comes to changes to environmental protection legislation.

“They wanted to get it swept under the rug as quickly as possible,” said NDP environment critic Megan Leslie. “So, I find it really encouraging that when I am out in communities or I am talking to my colleagues, they report back that people know something happened and people know that this bill had huge implications for environmental regulations in Canada.”

NDP finance critic Peggy Nash (Parkdale–High Park) said the caucus will also discuss how to turn its values into practical ideas.

“We are still the same party and we still have the same principles and priorities, but we always have to be looking at what are the most relevant proposals for Canadians,” Nash said.

NDP caucus chair Peter Julian (Burnaby–New Westminster) said MPs are also going to talk about taking their show on the road by consulting Canadians nationwide, both in person and on social media, beginning with visiting the federal ridings in Newfoundland and Labrador after the meeting wraps up Thursday.

“One of the things that we will be doing in addition to the hard work in Ottawa is engaging Canadians right across the country,” Julian said.

There will be also be workshops on international trade to help MPs prepare for the looming trade deal between Canada and the European Union, on health care to learn about what will replace the 2004 Health Accord when it expires in two years, and one on social media.

MPs will also watch a national rugby match on Tuesday evening and hold a fundraiser Wednesday night that will feature the musical talents of NDP MP Charlie Angus (Timmins–James Bay) and others.

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